District Assessments

District assessments are typically given during the school year to help teachers see progress toward College and Career Readiness Standards in subjects such as math and language arts. Teachers can use the information from these assessments to work collaboratively with their colleagues to plan lessons and provide support for individual students. In Seattle Public Schools, we use different types of formative assessment. For the 2018-19 school year, students will be assessed using Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) and CenterPoint interim assessments. Data collected from these assessments will help inform classroom instruction and remediation and/or extension activities to meet the needs of all students.

State Assessments

State assessments are required for federal accountability and also provide a common measure of student progress at the school, district and state levels. Our educators examine the results and use them to help determine which resources and supports are needed to close achievement gaps. For detailed information, please see the pages below:

The WCAS measures the proficiency that Washington students have achieved based on the Washington State 2013 K-12 Science Learning Standards.

Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT)
Not mandatory: PSAT and SAT are not mandatory tests; not taken by all students.
Grade level: 10th, 11th

The PSAT helps juniors prepare for the SAT and is used to qualify students for scholarships and advanced learning opportunities.

Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
Not mandatory: PSAT and SAT are not mandatory tests; not taken by all students.
Grade level: 11th

The SAT is the most widely used college admission test in the country. The test can be used as a substitute graduation requirement if the student didn’t meet passing scores on other assessments in ELA or math.

English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA-21)
State required ELL eligible students only
Grade level: K-12

The ELPA21 assessment system measures a student’s language proficiency relative to the English Language Proficiency standards. Any student whose primary and/or home language is other than English is required by the state to test. Student progress is assessed every year to until they reach a level of ‘proficient’.